A nurse at a local children’s hospital tucks a handwritten card next to a young patient’s bedside. The words inside, written by a CHS9 student, carry a simple goal: to spread hope.
Founded this year, Letters of Love began as an idea by club President Abhirami Nachiappan’s passion for calligraphy.
“Abhi was really into calligraphy, but calligraphy isn’t a very popular topic for a club,” vice president Ayati Gourishetti said. “ Why can’t you make it into something more meaningful that people will want to join?”
Eventually, that idea led to creating and delivering handwritten cards to children in hospitals. The club’s members make cards containing uplifting messages, and partner with local hospitals near Coppell to deliver the letters to patients.
The club piqued the interest of biology teacher Jay Brown after overhearing a conversation about the initiative.
“I was talking about [Letters of Love] in fourth period during biology, and Mr. Brown overheard and said, ‘Oh my God, I would love to be the sponsor of that club,” Nachiappan said.
To spread the word, club members relied primarily on word of mouth. By sharing information in hallways, recruiting friends and imploring people to support the club mission, they garnered a community committed to making a difference and supporting their peers.
“A lot of people, a lot of our friends, joined because they were supportive of us,” Nachiappan said.
Despite its growing presence, Letters of Love’s biggest challenge lies in hospitals accepting their donations.
“Because we’re in ninth grade, not a lot of people are going to trust us,” Nachiappan said.
For many hospitals, there are rules and regulations in place for the safety of patients, making it difficult for the club to deliver their letters to patients. To respect safety regulations, Letters of Love gives the notes to hospital administration to distribute to patients.
Even if club members do not directly interact with patients, members see the impact of their work through staff reactions. The club members strive for their letters to make a difference, even if they do not witness the impact.
“People usually have really sweet reactions when it comes to giving the cards, and we really enjoy seeing their in-person reactions,” historian Pragna Chinnam said.
In addition to letters, the club is exploring other ways to support children. Inspired by other drives by clubs in school, members plan to potentially start a toy drive later this year. Students would donate toys and other items for children, and members would put them into goodie bags and distribute them to young patients across hospitals.
“We really want to be more meaningful and actually make bigger, meaningful things such as gift bags for hospitals,” Chinnam said.
As club members prepare to attend Coppell High School, officers plan to continue the club and spread positivity into the 2025-26 school year.
“ There might be more people who join because there’s more students,” Nachiappan said. “With more credibility and a larger club, I feel like people would trust us more.”
Additionally, to expand their membership and create an image at CHS, the club is also considering partnering with bigger organizations, such as student council.
“To our club members, it might not seem like much,” program coordinator Shloka Kommalapati said. “But to the patients, it makes a big difference and you can truly see the happiness on the staff’s faces when we go to deliver our cards.”
Follow Hamza Zakir (@hamza_zakir) and @CHSCampusNews on X.
